Razor_2005
The poster of 'Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania' is a 'selfie', aptly depicting the brutally modern times we live in. On face value it is a 'popcorn' tribute to 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge', but at a deeper level it is an ode with a sociological twist and a candid introspection of our modern times. It as much a reflection of Aditya Chopra's opus as it is of new age auteurs like Anurag Kashyap. It is juxtaposition of the old-world simplicity and modern-day savagery. We live in tough times. We live in brutal times. Modern society is full of contradictions and paradoxes. We live in a society that champions libertarian socialism, yet is consumerist to the core. Kavya won't settle for anything less than a 500,000-rupee wedding dress. But she has the cheek and the enterprise to raise the required money. Perfection is new-age imperfection: in other words, being perfect is a sin and being flawed is a virtue in the modern society. Kavya rejects Angad, who is better than Humpty in every way. He is a doctor; he rakes more money; he has more brawn and brains; he can dance; he is rational; he has better social and clubbing skills. In simple terms, he is an ideal man who withstands her father's meticulous quest for her prospective husband. But despite that, it is Humpty who charms Kavya with his glaring flaws.Like any self-conscious modern film, it pays obeisance to Facebook. It, however, saves Humpty from proffering the silly colloquial 'I want to do friendship with you' to her. Instead, Facebook provides him a subtle approach to take things forward. Their transition from friends to lovers is seamless without any melodrama or jingoistic lines, which would have been must in the nineties.Both films deal with facets of patriarchy. In 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge', Amrish Puri was a strict patriarch, marching in austerity; assertive, yet without any violent tendency. The patriarch here, Ashutosh Rana, from his humble beginnings as a mechanic, is now a rich and powerful transport honcho. The father-daughter relationship is relaxed. She's daddy's princess, pampered and over-protected by the typical modern-day big poppa daddy. But he can impose his preferences on her when it comes to her marriage, because he believes that his choice would be better for her in the long run. The patriarch knows that he is not a perfect husband to his wife, but he aspires to be a perfect daddy, even if it means overriding his daughter's volition. A snooty Philistine like him does not read books, but one can expect him to have posters of Bajrang Dal or Noam Chomsky in his closet. Unlike the patriarch in 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge', he can be violent, not towards his daughter, but towards any 'unsanctioned' suitor. He sends Humpty and friends packing in a truck, battered savagely by his sycophants.Humpty is a run-of-the-mill exponent of yuppie breed, who any average six-pack Joe can relate to. Like modern-day heroes he digs it out in the gym and proudly possesses six-pack abs. Many social commentators look askance at the shaved torsos and muscular physiques of modern heroes, questioning their masculinity. In the past, heroes didn't need gymnasiums to exhibit machismo: hirsuteness was an emblem of masculinity. But things have changed. So have the ethos of machismo. Moreover, the parameters of modern masculinity are tougher, as drudging machinery in the gym calls for hard work and dedication, compared to having follicular growth on chest that requires no talent or effort. He swears by Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge's philosophies. And he strips himself of dignity at the patriarch's behest, ready to undergo an excoriating examination. In spirit he is a younger version of the patriarch. His deportment and methods different but his ideologies are the same as his. When Kavya decides to elope with him, his paternal instinct kicks in and he persuades her to stay under the patriarch's aegis. In spite of his tender exterior, Humpty is a savage at heart. When his desperate attempts at nitpicking Angad fail, he almost gives up, but Kavya's wit saves him. She artfully incites Angad to pick a fight with a lecherous hooligan at the dhaba. But Angad, instead of getting in a mad-cap brawl, calmly calls the police; whereas, the frantic Humpty, desperate to outdo Angad, throws himself on the hooligans.Although the patriarch sees himself in the savage Humpty, he is too brutal a pragmatist to let his emotions take over logic. Although the patriarch himself was a mechanic when he got married, he still cannot let his princess marry a stranger with rickety finances. Humpty is too big a risk for him. Like every big poppa daddy, he seeks a better life for his daughter than he did for his wife.The climax has an oneiric feel — a salute to Martin Scorsese's 'Taxi Driver'. The drunken Humpty is howling on the eve of Kavya's wedding. Then suddenly the patriarch emerges to bless his approval for Humpty. It's likely to be Humpty's histrionic imagination. The schmaltzy Humpty, deeply inspired by 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge', always hankered for the patriarch's blessings. It is a very dream-like scene. Then Kavya's standing on a truck, calling Humpty, is another surreal moment. Angad's abrupt dismissal seems amiss; it is again Humpty's imagination, which has no room for Angad. Humpty's dream is an idealistic climax, his solace to his quest for Kavya, but alas, idealism has no room in Humpty's brutal modern society.
shagun-khera
I wish there was rating in negative. I imagine how this movie was written. The most pathetic script, even worse direction blended with awful over acting. the scenes get so stupid you almost want to hit the characters. Goodness gracious!!! Censor board should visit these kind of movies and ban them for public consumption. These are injurious to a normal brain!! Trying to copy DDLJ and they fail miserably. This is the greatest tribute to foolishness!! Don't waste your money guys. Spend it on food, give it to beggars, do something else...I wish!! sincerely wish the director and the writer get this head out of their bums to not produce this kind of disaster again!!
bobbysing
Beginning with a one line review straight away, this latest offering from Karan Johar's production house is nothing but a cleverly made rehashed version of the cult trendsetter DILWALE DULHANIYA LE JAYENGE released in 1995. So if you were willing to see something new in the name of content, execution or storyline then the film has simply got none other than the good looking faces nicely performing their roles as expected.Therefore instead of a detailed review I would like to directly address the team with some frank questions regarding this soul-less, repetitive attempt once again made to fool the people in the name of entertainment. But before going into that, I would first like to explain the actual logic behind this commercial replica of DDLJ made after almost two decades.In reality, this logic is all about a generation change which more or less happens in a society in around two decades. In exact words, HUMPTY SHARMA KI DULHANIA has been specifically made for those young viewers who were all born in the early or mid-90s and haven't seen or been a part of that magical euphoria witnessed around the original DDLJ post 1995. And even if only these youngsters go to watch HSKD in the multiplexes excluding all the other age groups completely, still the film can easily become a good earner through a killing weekend in the major cities, as planned. So in business terms, Karan Johar once again plays it pretty safe and should be able to earn a decent profit too from this mediocre venture as usual.However on moral or quality terms, this trend of making successful business oriented, weak remakes of all the old classics is pretty sad, because then these makers would become habitual of following this easy path of earning money, where they neither have to work on some new concepts, plots or scripts nor have to do an extra hard work on the making due to an already available 'Hit Template' to copy from.Plus this is not an appreciable way to make the younger generation familiar with the past classics, since those path breaking films need to be seen, studied, enjoyed and cherished in their original form only and the storytelling in cinema should keep on progressing as per the social changes around with each new decade resulting in much more intelligent and aware youngsters ideally.But unfortunately since today neither the young ones are interested in watching the golden classics in their original form nor most of the makers are willing to try something fresh & risky exploring some new avenues. So such kind of average, seen before and clichéd films are regularly becoming box office earners since last few years and this mutually accepted downgrade arrangement between the makers & the viewers is constantly affecting the quality of our Hindi cinema negatively.Now coming to my direct messages for the team members, firstly for Varun & Alia I would like to say that now that you have both proved your individual talents as well as the on screen charm loudly, so please choose few great scripts offering something new to we starving audience of Hindi Films, progressing wisely. And in case all the youngsters today are more interested in following the footsteps of the self-made star Shahrukh Khan, then please don't forget that the man actually reached this stage by taking some huge risks of doing completely unconventional projects at the most crucial stages of his career, which are all now considered as landmark films of Indian Cinema widely. SRK's career is more known for these difficult, experimental roles apart from the lover boy image to be precise and that's exactly what makes an actor into a King Khan as they call him lovingly. So please take some time to read scripts and give us something new to applaud whole heartedly in your coming ventures for sure.Secondly addressing one of biggest producers of Hindi film Industry today, I would like to ask Karan Johar a few honest questions as mentioned below that :A. How many more versions of DDLJ and KKHH we will be forced to see in the coming future?B. Most importantly, right from your first film KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI released in 1998, Punjabi language, Punjabi characters and the Punjabi feel has been there in your projects making the best out of it undeniably. And in HSKD also you have bought the rights of two hit Punjabi tracks which were already released a couple of years back to give the film a required boost in the market as per its Punjabi theme. So when you have already earned so much money and success depending upon these Punjabi insertions only then why not make a full-fledged PUNJABI FILM paying back the community, the language, the region and its people, their long awaited due instead of repeatedly exploiting it in your Hindi films as in HSKD.C. Lastly addressing the director Shashank Khaitan too, please let me know that what kind of Punjabi Families you have or assume in mind, while depicting them on the screen. Do you think that all Punjabi families are full of drunkards wherein their daughters also are habitual of drinking like big tankers? Or its just your poor imagination and you have not even seen or met a real Punjabi family of Punjab?As a concluding note, this might be liked by this particular section of viewers who can enjoy the same seen before sequences again & again served with few new faces or backdrops designed cleverly. But for the ones, who wish to experience some new stories, meet fresh characters enacting a novel kind of script offering a rejuvenating experience, the film would be a big drag with only few entertaining sequences in the first half.
